Regional Jail Proposal Goes To State Agency

$16 Million Facility Could Have 428 Inmates

ISLE OF WIGHT — The Western Tidewater Regional Jail Board decided Tuesday to present to the State Board of Corrections a plan for a $16.6 million jail that would house up to 428 prisoners.

The plan would include the option to add space for up to 100 work-release prisoners.

The Board of Corrections meets Aug. 23 and is expected to decide whether to approve the concept of the regional jail. The facilities subcommittee of the Board of Corrections will review the plans Tuesday and submit a recommendation to the board.

Csaba S. Balazs, representing the architectural firm of L. Robert Kimball and Associates, said the jail could be occupied by December 1992 if the board chooses to employ a manager to coordinate and manage the building of the jail. The construction manager would save about six months in building the facility, compared to conventional techniques. A manager would also add about 5 percent to the cost, Balazs estimated.

But Balazs said compressing the building time by using a construction manager would require cooperation of the Virginia Department of Corrections, particularly in reviewing plans for the various stages of the jail. "That means they drop everything" and look at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail plans, Balazs said. Typically, the Corrections Department might take up to a month to approve plans.

The board delayed making a decision on hiring a construction manager until it could get more of a commitment from the Corrections Department on working closely with the project.

Another factor in speeding up the jail is to begin designing and buying the prison equipment early on, instead of waiting until other construction was started, Balazs said.

"The prison equipment design has to be done in the next few months for this to work," Balazs said. "That's the critical item."

Isle of Wight County and the cities of Suffolk and Franklin are working together to build the jail. The localities hope to take advantage of a law passed by the General Assembly this year, which calls for the state to contribute 50 percent of the cost of constructing regional jails involving three or more jurisdictions.

In selecting the plan to send to the Board of Corrections, the regional board chose from among three options. The one selected includes four pods of cellblocks and an administration building.

The board decided to maintain a ratio of 60 percent maximum security cells and 40 percent dormitory space. The plan also includes the option of building a fifth pod, housing work-release inmates. Whether the fifth pod is added will depend on a needs assessment being prepared by the Corrections Department.

The extra pod would cost about $2 million, Balazs said.

He said all the numbers were estimates. "Unfortunately, the estimating game is viewed as an exact science, and it's anything but that," Balazs said.